VOA慢速英语--芬兰科学家已通过“细胞农业”成功地在实验室中培育咖啡

Finnish Researchers Grow Coffee in a Lab

Finnish researchers say they have produced coffee in a laboratory that smells and tastes very similar to the real thing.

The team reports that lab-grown coffee could be important as climate change continues to threaten traditional coffee farming.

Scientists at Finland's VTT Technical Research Center created cell cultures from the leaves of coffee plants. The process involves floating the cell cultures in bioreactors filled with nutrients¹. The same method is used to make other kinds of animal- and plant-based products.

Heikki Aisala is a VTT researcher who oversaw² the process. Aisala told Reuters news agency that cups of the cellular³ coffee probably would not pass taste tests comparing it to traditional coffee.

"Not like, of course, 100 percent. It tastes like a combination of different types of coffees," Aisala said. The researcher added that while the cellular coffee is not ready for the market just yet, "it certainly does resemble coffee at the moment."

Aisala added it is possible that the lab-grown version could one day develop into a multi-billion-dollar industry.

VTT Research team leader Heiko Rischer said cell cultures offer a more sustainable way to make coffee. This is because coffee is in high demand. This has led to countries opening up more land to grow coffee beans, which causes increased deforestation.

Rischer said the environmental benefits of lab-grown coffee include reduced use of pesticides⁴ and fertilizer and less need to ship coffee beans long distances to markets.

In Europe, lab-grown coffee would need to be approved before it could be marketed.

But an important question remains⁶: Will coffee lovers actually drink the lab-grown creation? A Reuters reporter put that question to Satu, a server in a Helsinki coffee shop.

"I think someday we're going that way because of all the natural coffee sources vanishing," she said. "So, we have to move along...if it tastes good and the aroma⁷ is coffee based, so why not? I think it's possible."

Words in This Story

culture – n. the process of growing things for scientific purposes

bioreactor – n. a device in which living organisms synthesize useful substances

resemble – v. to look like or be like someone or something

sustainable – adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

pesticide⁵ – n. a chemical used to kill insects

fertilizer – n. a natural of chemical substance that is put on land to help make plans grow well

vanish – v. to disappear

aroma– n. a nice smell that usually comes from food or drink

1 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

3 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

4 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。